Diandra Interviews Alex Frew: Making An Antisocial Love Song

Alex Frew is an absolute sweetheart and an introvert. While most artists find their music in their heart and how it connects to their mind, there are those that find in it in their mind and how it connects to their heart. In essence, his lyrics and sound whirl with a subtle, ambient ring, while still feeling, rhythmically, like pop. His new track “Antisocial Love Song,” puts you in a trance while making you move; his verses painting the details of really wanting to be with the one you like, privately, but getting caught in the crowded party. In our interview, we talk about what it is to be a creative an introvert, and how the pandemic has made him reanalyze both.

Diandra: How are you feeling creatively inspired during this pandemic?

Alex Frew: Very much not so much. A lot of songs come about from things that I experience from everyday life and the people I experience. Whether it is relationship with friends or love interests or family, you need an impetus for inspiration in a writing process. So it has been quite difficult for me to find inspiration to write songs. The world is still as beautiful as it always has been; I am just not experiencing it.

Diandra: Any new skills learned?

Alex Frew: I recently invested a lot more in guitars. I have been playing guitar since I was 9 years old so I have been really focused on improving that. Making little demos.
Alex Frew – Get Out Alive (Official Lyric Video)

Diandra: You know I read somewhere that this is a shy person’s dream; everyone being inside, chilling, and not feeling the social pressure or FOMO.

Alex: There are definitely antisocial times, which is good for introverts like me, at certain times. As an introvert, it is so easy to say, “All I want is time by myself!” But then, every form of stimulus is cut off, and you realize that that is not something you can maintain your entire existence. You have to have a healthy balance of social and anti-social. Though, I can’t say I have disliked all the free time to watch Netflix and stay in my pjs.

Diandra: Any Netflix shows you would turn into a song?

Alex: I switched streaming to HBO, recently, and I rewatched Watchmen, which is a fantastic show. It is about superheroes. It is a fantastic piece on society and how we have progressed recently. They have a mass of themes that are relevant today like, police brutality and institutional issues and they subvert you into recognizing what is happening. I would love to encapsulate that into a track in the future.

Diandra: Who are you as a narrator in your new track “Antisocial Love Song?”

Alex: It is chronicling the way I have related to love and relationships with people. It is about that feeling of having that favorite person and not wanting to see anyone else. It is not just about one specific relationship as much as many relationships, and how I react to them and how I feel and relate to them. It is a feeling that I think is pretty relatable; you have a favorite person and you would do anything to look cool to them and all you want to do is hang out with them.
Alex Frew – Antisocial Love Song (Official Lyric video)

Diandra: Anything you’ve done to look cool to someone you liked?

Alex: That is a good, loaded question! Probably, many embarrassing things! (he laughs) In grade six, 10 year old Alex entered the talent show in middle school because I wanted to impress someone I liked, and I did “Viva La Vida” and it did not work. I did it for them, and it was so embarrassing because I was not really a talkative kid and I was terrified of other people. The only thing I remember is that I had a cold, and I remember I would sniffle as I would sing, and I remember walking off the stage and thinking that is all people heard. I was very uptight about that. (he laughs)

Diandra: It could have been very Phoebe “Smelly Cat.”

Alex: That is a masterpiece (he laughs).

Diandra: What has music taught you about how you relate to people?

Alex: Even in the most basic sense, I’ve met a lot of new people that I would not have met otherwise. In and of itself, the career I am pursuing in music has broadened my horizons. Music brings people together. They play it at grocery stores! My mom would play piano with me and sing to me when I was 4! It has always been something that is everywhere and that is powerful to me. It is essential and I don’t know where my mind would be without it. I used to sit on the porch with my dad and pretend I was busking for him with this Blues Clues’ fake guitar for hours on end. I would bring it everywhere with me, and that is the fondest memory I have: me busking in my diaper. (he laughs)

Diandra: Do you have a lyric that you love but you never can turn into a song?

Alex: I have COUNTLESS! I primarily use my phone to get all my notes and ideas down. I have old journals and pages and pages of paragraphs and phrases that I just forgot about. I really need to go back and check it. Every time I write something down, that I am truly inspired about, I write and then forget it. I am going to open them up now. There might be some gems there. I need to feel an emotion that pushes me to express it through music. Emotions inspire songwriting.
Alex Frew – Get Out Alive [Live]

Diandra: Being an emotional writer, do you need to be in the feeling to write or at a distance from it?

Alex: Honestly, I feel like I need to be in the feeling. When I am actively writing, I need to feel it to it full extent.

Diandra: So what triggered “Antisocial Love Song?”

Alex: It came about in a session. We were just talking about how we wanted to spend time with one person. At the end of the day, after all your hard work is done, you just want to be with one person. It came about by wanting to feel like somebody is important.

Diandra: It definitely feels relevant to now, especially in terms of how we connect?

Alex: It is a weird synergy between “we are alone” but “we are not alone ever.” During the Spanish Flu, we didn’t have the internet. So we are still connected. It is different: the internet and how we interact with uncertainty.

Diandra: What are 3 personality traits we can expect in your EP?

Alex: subdued, emotional, and noir. There is also a layer of hope, in terms of navigating the dark of life.

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